Dragonkin 4 You're my Mate? No thanks.

Part 23 Wrong kind of attraction

Watching him from the outside, I become angry with myself. Why did I not believe him this afternoon? Today was a disaster. I must apologise to him when I can seize a chance. But how? When he's now encircled by a bunch of ravenous females.

I spy Karalianus excusing himself from his captive audience. However, they would not let him go. The brazen women cling on to his arm tightly, manacling him to the spot. When he brushes their questing hands away, the claws replace themselves firmly on his arms again. Putting effort to maintain a distance from the fluttering women, he subtly pushes them away when some of them leans into him.

He reminds me of a prey entangled in a spider web. Try as he might to struggle, he's stuck.

"What a charming gentleman he is," a female voice manifests next to me, startling me from my concentration. "He cuts such a handsome figure, doesn't he? If only I were decades younger, I would have taken my chances with him too, like the drooling hungry cats there".

Turning to her, I state boldly, "No, you wouldn't have. Your tastes run to gods, fertility gods in fact. He'd have bored you in minutes".

Assessing him critically, Naia comments, "True, he appears frail next to his shining example of a brother-in-law. Now, that's a magnificent specimen. He would have kept me entertained for days. Too bad he's true mated. From what I hear down the grapevine, they don't stray from their mates. More's the pity".

Turning my head to her, I ask, "How did you know that? You don't keep company with the werekind".

"It's not a secret. Besides, when you hang out with the gods long enough, you start learning things, sweetie". Tilting her head to one side, she waggles her brow at me, "The gods aren't only good for sex, there're numerous benefits to being friends with them. Although glorious sex is the main draw. You should try it some time. It's a great stress reliever".

Gliding her finger down my arm, she laments, "Look at how luminous my skin is, compared to your parchment dry skin. You don't get enough sex, sweetie".

"Pfftt. I give up on you," I giggle, amused by her fierce advertisement for sex. It's an ongoing joke between the both of us that I try to restrain her sex drive while she flaunts it shamelessly. "You truly live up to the name of a nymph, you nymphomaniac".

"Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it". Her eyes track Karalianus lasciviously, "So young and tender. It would be fun to educate him in the bedroom".

Snorting, I chuckle, "You're describing him like a piece of beefcake you want to cook for dinner. That'll be akin to having sex with an infant, don't you think? He'll be gobbled up by you instead of learning to please you. Aim for the gods, Naia. You prefer the gods, remember? You're the type who wants to be satisfied by others rather than to satisfy".

On one hand, I'm desperately deflecting her interest in Karalianus while keeping him to myself on the other, without letting Naia figuring out how important he is to me.

Puckering her luscious red lips, Naia pouts as she scrutinises Karalianus from head to toe, "After all this time, you're the only one who knows me so well. You're right. His male form is nice, but it doesn't beat the fertility gods. They are truly built. Stallions they are. How I miss Adonis and Dionysus, we can go on all night. Mmm...Just fantasizing about them makes me wet".

Nudging her arm, I protest, "Naia, this is a ball, not an orgy. Get your brain out of the gutter," rolling my eyes in mock affront.

Shrugging her bare smooth shoulders, Naia giggles merrily, "Hey, as a forest nymph, I take that as a compliment. We're famous for seducing men. What's a ball for, if not for selecting potential bed partners? Isn't that the reason why the men are well-dressed? They're here to attract females".